By Andrew Donaldson, CEO, The Donaldson Group
‘Get Britain building again’. The words we’ve been waiting for kicking off a positive opening speech from our new chancellor, Rachel Reeves. With an overhaul of planning restrictions and the re-introduction of compulsory housebuilding targets, the future is looking better for current and future home-owners.
Regardless of political allegiance, any new government will have an impact on our lives, both personally and professionally. As CEO of The Donaldson Group, this first speech by our new chancellor provided me with a slight air of optimism for the future.
Our purpose as a business is to help build positive futures for generations to come, and this immediate pledge to boost the housebuilding sector and deliver more much-needed homes aligns with our vision.
Undoubtedly, this early messaging coming from the new government is encouraging for our sector. Their plans for the housing market include a range of policies aimed at addressing the housing crisis, improving affordability, and enhancing overall housing conditions. Importantly, around 40% of these are pledged to be social and affordable homes. An initiative aimed at addressing the chronic shortage of affordable housing and reducing homelessness – something which was particularly encouraging to hear.
The challenge will be how we as an industry play our part in delivering this, and how the government can ensure the private sector has the confidence in our housebuilding sector. If Labour is serious about building 1.5 million homes over the next parliament, they’ll need public and private sector investment, and a pulling together of the housebuilding industry. Collaboration will be key.
Too often our sector is pitted against each other to compete, but to help the government achieve this target of 300,000 homes per year, we’ll need to work together – one or two organisations alone will not be able to provide this level of building.
The new homes will need to meet higher standards and sustainability targets. Modern methods of construction (MMC) and offsite timber systems will come into their own in this scenario, providing a solution to our new government’s ambition, both in terms of green credentials and speed of build.
Just this week, our offsite frame manufacture business, Donaldson Timber Systems (DTS), became the first timber frame manufacturer to offer an independent, accredited environmental product declaration (EPD) for an off-site assembled timber frame wall panel, proving its sustainability credentials.
The figures from this EPD verify what we’ve been saying for years – offsite timber frame construction is the best way to achieve sustainable building practices and meet net zero targets. Our results demonstrate that if the UK were to build the target of 300,000 homes per year in timber frame as opposed to concrete block, it would reduce annual carbon emissions by over one million metric tonnes – the equivalent of the fossil fuel generated electricity needed to run 500,000 homes for a year.
Planning has been one of the biggest issues in our sector over recent years, so Ms Reeves’ promise of planning and development reform is likely to have resonated with anyone who has been involved in the building industry. The time it takes for any development to go through the planning system is prohibitive, and this will need to be challenge number one for Labour to address. They have pledged to introduce mandatory housing targets and reform the planning system to streamline and speed up the approval process, which will be a welcome development for all.
These policies are really good news for the industry and our family of businesses. Delivering on it will be tough – there remain issues with land availability, planning and regulatory hurdles, and huge skilled labour shortages in the supply chain – among other challenges. Any change will inevitably take time. However, it appears that housing is Labour’s number one priority, and that is a good thing.
Only time will tell what the future holds, however we are ready for whatever opportunity comes our way. We have a long heritage and are primed and ready to help deliver on these policies being spoken about by the new government. We’re feeling optimistic and preparing the Group for a positive few years, with a real focus on productivity, efficiency and employee wellbeing.
